History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 137

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 137

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

474

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

up their church in 1859, the Catholics bought it. This building, since altered and enlarged beyond recogni- tion as to its original condition, is the present church of this denomination. A fine new pastor's house has heen very recently erected on a pleasant site in the rear of the church, overlooking the river. It is a fact significant of the increase of the Catholic population since the time above referred to, that in this church worships a congregation by far the largest in town ; and it is also significant that while many of the old names, common a hundred or two years ago, have be- come entirely extinct, and others are in danger of be- coming so, the names of Sullivan, Collins, Gallivan, McCarthy and others appear in increasing numbers in each new directory and voting list, and indeed those names mentioned seem already to be more numerous than any other save one. The largest collective set- tlement of the people of this church radiates from the crossing of Hobart Street and the Eastern Railroad. It used to be called after the capital of the old coun- try. Much of the land was bought by Captain An- drew M. Putnam, and by him was first opened up for building purposes. At his death, May 6, 1881, the family received a touching letter from a commit- tee of Irish citizens, requesting permission to march behind the funeral procession to the grave. Twenty- eight of them did this, and some of their number filled the grave with earth. "No pen can write," such was the tribute, "nor mind describe the love, the veneration, we have for him, who was 'a friend in need and a friend indeed.' The name of Captain A. M. Putnam shall be forever near and dear to us. Many a heart has he made glad, by putting them in a way of having a little home for themselves when every one else seemed against them."

The first resident pastor of the church was Rev. Charles Raioni, who also had charge of the church in Marblehead. Thither he removed on the separation of the parishes in 1872. He was a gentleman ad- vanced in years, and greatly beloved. His successor, Rev. Fr. O'Reilly, remained but one year. Rev. Pat- rick Joseph Halley was appointed to Danvers in April, 1873, and his pastorate extended to September, 1882; Rev. D. B. Kennedy's, from the last date to April, 1885, when the present pastor, Thomas E. Power, was ap- pointed.

EPISCOPAL .- Calvary Parish was organized on the 14th of April, 1858. Joseph Adams and John S. Pratt were the first wardens. Rev. Robt. F. Chase entered upon his duties as rector, May 9th, 1858, ser- vices being held at first in Bank Hall.

The corner-stone of the present church at the cor- ner of Holten and Cherry Streets, was laid by Bishop Eastburn, May 11, 1859, and the church was conse- crated by him, May 25, 1860. Mr. Chase resigned in 1862, but was again rector from 1863 to 1865. His successors were as follows :- Rev. George Horvill, rector from 1865-66; Rev. William W. Silvester, dea- con in charge of the parish, 1868; Rev. S. J. Evans,

rector, 1869-71; Rev. William I. Magill, 1872-77. Rev. George Walker, the present rector, took charge of the parish October, 1877.

UNITARIAN .- As was hinted in the sketch of the Universalist Society, there were, many years ago, a number of influential families who had accepted the Unitarian faith. It was not, however, until 1865, that the present society was organized and worship begun, the first service being held in the Town Hall, and conducted by Rev. A. P. Putnam, then of Roxbury.

Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Wentworth, with their family of children, had recently removed to Danvers from Roxbury, where they had been parishioners of Mr. l'utnam, and it only needed their presence and ear- nest zeal in the town, to insure success to the new movement. One or more meetings of the friends were held to consider the matter, previous to the first pub- lic service, and arrangements were soon made for regular Sunday worship in the Town Hall until more suitable accommodations could be had. The desk was supplied by different preachers until April 1st, 1867, when Rev. Leonard J. Livermore became the pastor of the infant church, and remained the minister until his death, in the summer of 1886, having his residence throughout at Cambridge, and being the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth, on his weekly visits to Danvers. The little church prospered, and in a few years erected its present neat and commodious chapel, which is lo- cated very near the site of the first house at Danvers Plains, that of pioneer John Porter. The cost of land and edifice was about $13,000. The building took the name of Unity Chapel, and was formally dedicated as a house of worship on the evening of the 16th of March, 1871. The opening prayer was by Rev. S. C. Beane, of Salem; the reading of the Scriptures by Rev. J. B. Moore, of Lawrence; the sermon by Rev. A. P. Putnam; the act of dedication by the pastor and people; the prayer of dedication by Rev. J. T. Hewes, of Salem ; chants and hymns were sung by a quartette and by the congregation. The church suf- fered a great loss in the death of Mr. Wentworth, about the time of the decease of its first minister. For a fuller notice of these two excellent men and faithful friends, see Dr. Putnam's sketch of Mr. Went- worth on a subsequent page. Mr. Livermore's suc- cessor is Rev. J. C. Mitchell, who entered upon his work here during the last winter (1886-87), having previously been the minister of the Orthodox Con- gregational Church in Wenham.

METHODIST .- This is the only church located in the village of Tapleyville, and draws its strength and support largely from that neighborhood.

The first preaching service, preliminary to organiz- ing a church, was held in Lincoln Hall, October 22, 1871. As a result of this and successive meetings it was determined to build a meeting-housc. G. A. Tapley gave the lot of land, and he and his father otherwise contributed liberally. The present build- ing was dedicated early in 1873. It cost about fif-

475

DANVERS.

teen thousand dollars. The church was organized March 17, 1872. The first pastor was Rev. Elias Hodge, to whose enthusiastic work much of the first success of the new church was due. He served until 1874, the conference year beginning with April. His suc- cessors have been Rev. R. H. Howard, 1875-76 ; Rev. Garrett Beekman, 1877-79; Rev. W. J. Hambleton, 1880-82; Rev. W. M. Ayres, 1883-85; Rev. C. A. Merrill, the present pastor, came in 1886.

The Sunday-school was organized November 5, 1871; its first superintendent, Oliver D. Ham.

SEVENTH DAY ADVENT .- In the summer of 1877 a very large tent was pitched in the open lot on Ho- bart Street, opposite the station, and large congre- gations went nightly to hear Elder Canright's exposi- tions of the doctrines of the above sect. He succeeded in making numerous converts, some from other churches, more from those not previously in the habit of attending church. Notwithstanding the practical in- convenience of keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, a considerable number hold firmly to that way. A

chapel was dedicated January 6, 1878. It stands very near the site of the tent. The church was organized December 11, 1877. There has been for some time no settled pastor. Very recently there have been quite a number of baptisms. Charles Hartman is superintendent of the Sunday-school.

CHAPTER XXXV.

DANVERS .- (Continued).

EDUCATIONAL.

ONE of the reasons why the Village and Middle Parishes petitioned to be set off from Salem was be- canse they were so far from the grammar-school. But there were schools, probably of lower grade than grammar, in both the Village and Middle Parishes many years before the district of Danvers was incor- porated. The first action taken towards a separate school within the present limits of Danvers and Pea- body was in 1701, under a vote entered in the village parish records that "Mr. Joseph Herrick and Mr. Joseph Putnam and John Putnam jun. are chosen and empowered to agree with some suitable person to be a school-master among us, in some convenient time ; and make return therefor to the people." The man instrumental in building the first school-house was the minister of the Village church, Rev. Joseph Green. Certain passages of his diary, March, 1708, bear upon the subject:

" March 11. . . I spoke to several abont building a schoolhouse and determined to do it, &c.

"I8. I rode to ye neighbors about a schoolhouse and found them generally willing to help.

" 22. Meeting of the Inhabitants. I spoke with several about build- ing a schoolhouse. I went into ye Town Meeting (village meeting) and

said to this effect : Neighbors I am about building a schoolhouse for the good education of our children . . . Some replyed that it was a new thing to them and they desired to know where it should stand, and what the design of it was. To them I answered that Deacon Ingersoll would give land for it to etand on, at the upper end of the Trainiog field, and that I designed to have a good school-master to teach their children to read and write and cypher and everything that ie good. Many com- mended the design and none objected to it.

" 25. Began to get timher for schoolhouse."

The teacher first mentioned by name is Katherine Daland; she taught before Mr. Green's house was finished. In 1714 Samuel Andrew taught and is the first mentioned master.

To pass now at once to the separate existence of the town and the manner in which it managed school af- fairs. At first the schools were left to the selectmen. The first school-committee, as a distinctive board, were chosen in 1756, under the following votes :

"Voted, to chuse a com'tee to regulate ye Grammar School & to be five men. Voted, Dao'l Gardaer Dan'l Puriogtoo Daa'l Epes Juu'r Nath'I Felton Sr. David Putoam voted, that the School Com'tee Draw up Something and lay it before ye District ou ye adjourament."

In the annual warrant for 1766 there occurred for the first time a proposition for the division of school money between the parishes according to the propor- tion of their taxes, but no action was then taken. The next year the question of establishing other than grammar-schools came up again. It was fonr years since the same matter had been referred to the dis- cretion of a committee, and now the growing need of such schools seemed so imperativethat it was directly voted "that there be a number of schools provided by the selectmen besides the Grammar Scool in the winter Season in this Town as the Selectmen Shall think proper, To be at Town Cost." The next year, 1768, " the claws in the warrant " relating to division of the school money between the parishes was dis- missed as before, and again the monopoly of public education was restored to the grammar-school; bnt before winter set in the selectmen were instructed " to set np what schools they shall think proper."

So matters went, at times only a grammar school, at times " other schools set up," until, in the midst of the Revolution, December 1, 1777, on a petition headed by Col. Jeremiah Page, a decidedly progres- sive step was taken. At a meeting held in the North Meeting-Honse, Archelans Dale, Moderator, it was voted that there be Ten Schools set up in the Town for three months each, and that the selectmen regnlate the schools and provide proper persons for School- masters.

In 1780 the expression "district schools " is first used; it was then voted "that there be District Schools set up for three months to begin as soon as may be."

In 1783 nine schools were " set up " for two months, bnt whether or not nine schools were insufficient to meet the law, or the setting-up thereof was too large- ly on paper merely, the inhabitants found them- selves this year presented before the Court of General Sessions for not keeping schools according to law,

476

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and Samuel Cheever was sent to Ipswich to answer for the town on the first Tuesday of April, and he was instructed "to use his influence, that the Town be not fined for their neglect in not keeping schools." The potency of Samuel's endeavors may be inferred from the fact that there is no further mention of the subject.

The 10th of November, 1794, is the beginning of a new epoch, it marks the first step towards the estab- lishment of a systematic district system. It was then voted that the selectmen "divide the town into as many districts as will best accommodate the town;" and the next month the first distinct and separate ap- propriation of money for school purposes was made,- £90, exclusive of the grammar school. Gideon Foster's record of the laying out of the school dis- tricts must here be omitted. There were nine in all; number one including the present central village of Peabody; two, the Port; three, Putnamville; four, Beaver Brook ; five, the Centre ; six, Felton's Corner ; seven and eight, West Danvers; nine, towards Hum- phrey's Pond. The establishment of division lines cansed some uneasiness among those who lived on the outskirts of the respective districts. For instance, Col. Jethro and Dr. Archelaus Putnam, and the dwellers on the Derby Farm, found themselves, by the new dispensation in No. 3, wished to be in No. 4, and evidently succeeded in getting there; for the next year, Aaron Putnam and others of No. 3 peti- tioned that the lost sheep be brought back again. Daniel Taylor and others soon wanted a division of No. 7 by a North and South line. In 1800 Amos King wished to be set off' from No. 8 to No. 6, but the inhabitants said no.

Early in 1802 a special meeting was called, to see if the town would make some general alterations in district lines ; the only changes made were in num- bers two, three and four, all within the present limits of Danvers.

In 1806 John Jacobs and others presented a peti- tion for the division of No. 7 and, succeeding in ob- taining it, the new district, number ten, was the result. In the same year the subject of rules for the govern- ment of schools was first considered, and the follow- ing code drawn up by Parsons Wadsworth and Walk- er, and Hon. Nathan Read, David Daniels and Capt. Samuel Page, will prove interesting reading :

DR. WADSWORTH'S CODE.

"1. It is recommended that each Instructor open his School in the morning and close it in the evening with a short prayer.

"2. On every School day except Saturday, each instructor shall em- ploy at least six hours in the instruction of his pupils, and not less than three on that day.

"3. The instructor of each School sball class his pupils in such man- uer as he shall judge most conducive to their improvement, not making leas thau two Classes.

"4. To facilitate the acquirement of an accurate & uniform mode of Spelling & pronunciation, Perry'a Spelling-book and Dictionary shall be tanght in all the Schools ; and the following shall be the Catalogue of Booke from which the Scholars shall be supplied at the discretion of the Instructor, viz. . 'Murray's English Grammer Abridged,' 'Morse's Ge- ography, abridged Constitution of the State of Massachusetts,' &c.,

' Wakefield mental improvement,' 'Pikes Arithmatic' & the 'holy Bi- ble,' together with such Latin & Greek Classics as are usually taught in Grammer Schools.

"5. To abridge the time commonly consumed by Children in learn- ing to write, the plan diacribed in Jenken's 'Art of Writing' shall be adopted in all the schools ; & Copper-plate copies fornished by the In- stractors shall be used by those Scholars who are able to write joining hand.

"6. The Scholars shall be taught pnactuatton notes or marks, inter- rogation, admiration, accent, emphasis & cadence.

"7. Every Instructor shall establish & maintain order & good Govern- ment in his school, not by inflicting cruel & nausual punishment, but by addressing the understanding & ingenious feelings of the youth com- mitted to his care, & by endeavouring to excite a spirit of industry & emulation stimulating them to their duty by the hope of reward rather than by the fear of Punishment.

"To carry these rules & orders (should the Town adopt them) into of- fect the Committee sensible that the improvement of Scholars depends greatly on the attention & fidelity of instructors beg leave to recommend a particular regard to the moral & literary quallifications of those who shall be employed in that capacity the annual choice of a School comunit- tee, faithfully to discharge the important trust reposed in them by law, & likewise to direct the Town Clerk to furnish the Grammer School Mas- ter at least with a written copy of the laws of this State respecting the power & duty of the School committee & instructors of Schools prefixed tu a copy of these regulations.

" BENJA. WADSWORTH, pr. order."

In 1808 another sub-division of districts occurred ; the people living in the western part of No. 1 were set off as No. 11; and within a few months Clark Wilson and others secured a division of No. 11, and a portion thereof was established as No. 12. At the March meeting of 1816 another very important advance towards system was made. Three persons- Nathan Felton, Daniel Putnam and Dr. Andrew Nichols were chosen "to define the powers and du- ties of School Committee."

Ten years in advance of the law of the State making it the duty of towns to choose a school con- mittee, Danvers accepted the report of these men, which contained, among other recommendations, this,-

"That it be proper und expedient to choose a School Committee, whose powers and doties shall be the same as is given to the ministers of the gospel aud the selectmen of the town by the laws of the Common- wealth, excepting such as have or may be given to the school districts by a special vote of the town."

And twenty-two years in advance of the State law requiring school committees to make annual reports, Danvers adopted this recommendation,-

" It shall be the duty of the School Committee to make a report of Bo mach of their doings and such other particulars respecting the several schools as they may deem worthy the consideration of the town at their annual March meeting."

At the same meeting at which this action was taken it was voted " that District No. 2 be divided, agree- ably to a Petition of John Page and others, dated April 19th, 1816, and is on Town files." A search among the old papers in the town-house vault was rewarded by the finding of this interesting autograph petition, the origin of the present Plains District, now No. 1,-

"TO THE SELECTMEN OF DANVERS :-

"GENTLEMEN : We, the subscribers, inhabitants of School District ! number two, request you to insert a clause lu your warrant at the May

477

DANVERS.

meeting for the choice of Representatives to this effect : to see if the town will pass a vote to seperate that part of District number two. Be- ginning at Frost fish brook bridge, so called, and from thence following the mill-pond dowo untill you come to the point of land owned by John Page, thence up a branch of said pond, untill you come to the bridge. near brick yards ; thencerunning down by the Salem road untill you come to the east corner of Seth Stetson's pastore ; thence running as the fence stands to the south corner of said pasture ; thence sonthierly as the fence runs to Crane river, so called ; thence following said river to the Bridge with all the land, polls and estates, to the northwurd und westward said line now belonging to District number two, with all the powers and priviledges belonging to other school Districts in the town of Danvers. " Danvers, April 19th, 1816.

" JOHN PAGE.

"GEORGE OSOOOD.

" EZRA BATCHELDER.

" EaENT BERRY.

" TIMOTHY PUTNAM.

" EBEN PUTNAM, JR.

"ANDREW BATCHELDER.

" ALLEN PEABODY."

Very soon Benjamin Wellington and Jonathan Perry, with their polls and estates, were set off from No. 3 to the new district, No. 13, and the next year "the land of Wmn. Burley, of Beverly, which lies in Danvers " was subjected to the same transfer.

In 1820 the town directed the school committee to return the number of children between five and eighteen, with the following result :

No. 1 ... .. 162 No 4 . 51 No. 7 ......... 69

No. 10. 46

# 2 ...... .. 184

.. 104

" 8 ......... 85

** 11 .116

3 ......... 53

6. . 98

" 9 ......... 16 4 12 .120

No. 13 .66.

About this time it is appareut that the old "gram- mar school " was being neglected. In the summer of 1821 Dr. Nichols and others petitioned for such a school, and as cumulative evidence of its non-exist- ence this vote appears on the record of the next an- nual meeting,-

" Voted, To choose a committee to answer a communication received by the selectmen from the county attorney, relating to Grammer Schools. Voted, that John W. Proctor, John Page and William Sutton be said committee."

The spirit of Samnel Cheever seems to have de- scended on these men, for, as in the case of his mis- sion to Ipswich forty years before, nothing was there- after heard of this threatened indictment.

Since the code of 1816 there had been annually elected three committee-men at large, and each year these three were the ministers of the three churches. After seven years it seems that it was thought well to give laymen a representation, and at a meeting called for that purpose and no other, and on the petition of the school committee themselves, it was voted then and thereafter to add three to the committee at large ; and those first added were Dr. Nichols, Nathan Felton and John W. Proctor.

In 1827 the term "at large" was dropped. The body which had been thus distinguished now be- came, with the addition of one more, simply the School committee; while the committee, chosen as formerly, one from each district, received the new title of Prudential Committee. To further distinguish the " upper house " from the latter, for several years

the phrase "Committee of Superintendence" was applied to it.

In 1831, by vote of the town the Prudential Com- mittee were thenceforth to be elected by the several districts at district meetings.

In 1835 just forty years had passed since the original establishment of districts. In the mean time many alterations, only some of which have here been noted, had taken place in the way of changing individuals and their estates from one dis- trict to another, until there might well have been more or less nncertainty abont the true dividing lines. They were therefore carefully examined and re-located by a committee of delegates from each existing district, and their report was recorded by Dr. Shed in a vol- ume of school records.

In 1836 occurs the first mention of compensation to the school committee. They were anthorized to ap- point three of their number to visit all the schools iu town, and these three were to receive for their ser- vices the same rate per day as other town officers.

The next year, 1837, the Massachusetts School Fund is first mentioned. The manner of disposal of the town's share was referred to the school com- mittee.

The Legislature of 1838 passed an act, changing the authority to employ teachers from the prudential to the general committee unless towns should other- wise order, and Danvers did so otherwise order. Bnt lest the district goverment should smack too highly of one-man power, it was, the next year, recommended to each district to choose two other persons to act and advise with the prudential man in superintending the concerns of the district.

The year 1839 marks the beginning of our printed school reports. The first school report proper ever made to the town was in 1817, and was committed to the "files." Resurrected from its long repose, this old document, somewhat blotted, scratched and inter- lined, signed " B. Wadsworth, Chairman, pr. order," makes very interesting reading to-day, and shows that school-report literature has departed not far from the standard thus early set,-the very small iron hand in the glove of well wadded velvet. There seems to be a certain familiar sound about expressions such as these :

" The Committee are enabled to report that the schools generally ap- peared advantageously in comparison with their condition in past years. . Notwithstanding the respectable character of the schools geu- erally, there is still room for improvement. In some districts the committee did not find the scholars had made so great proficiency in their studies as might have been reasonably expected. . . . In some districts many of the children have been sent very ioconstantly tu school, and the efforts of the Instructors have not been met with that zealous support from Parents which is essentially necessary to give the desired effect. In some instances the committee did not find that degree of Silence and regular order which is necessary to enable schollars (.\h, Doctor !) to pursue their studies most advantageously. . . . But the committee with pleasure add that in no instance was there discovered any marks of negligence, or want of constant and faithful atten ion to their laborious employment on the part of the Instructors. . . . The committee would close their remarks respecting the several schools

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 137

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538